A Certain Scientific Retribution
by poil333
Summary: In a city full of dark secrets, what happens to those who refuse to go along with the plans of the powers that be? And what happens when those who refuse decide the time has come for revenge? Can civil war be averted, or will the city burn? (Original Characters) (Occurs post-canon)
1. Prologue

**A Certain Scientific Retribution**

By: poil333

* * *

This is my first try at a fanfic, so I decided to start off with a series that I have seen many other wonderful writings by other authors on this site. For the sake of quick summary, I will pose a question. In Academy City, a city of 2.3 million people, there will no doubt be people who disagree with the controversial methods and experiments carried out by the Science Side. If these people are enough of a threat or inconvenience to the powers that be, what happens to them?

* * *

Academy City, home to approximately 2.3 million people, the majority of whom are students. These students attend the dozens of schools inside the city which give it its name, following a curriculum meant to develop psychic, or esper abilities. The city is divided into 23 districts, and is protected by two branches of law enforcement. The first, Judgment, is composed of students with limited powers of enforcement, mainly dealing with issues on school campuses. The second, Anti-Skill, has far greater authority, and is trained and equipped to handle crimes, violent and otherwise, committed by espers.

In a city full of strange happenings, courtesy of advanced science and esper abilities, urban legends are rampant. Most of these seem to have an origin in truth, even those that seem to be the strangest. While less of a legend and more of a rumor, District Zero is a place many people have heard of, but few know the truth about. As with any large city, Academy City sits atop a system of manmade tunnels and caverns which house much of its infrastructure. The existence of this area is not in question, but the rumors are more concerned with what happens there.

The people in charge of the city, the Board of Directors, have been far from popular at times, especially when controversial experiments come to light. After the events of World War Three, and the conflict with the Magic Side, dissidents and opposition groups have become bolder and more willing to stage protests and other acts of resistance. Among those arrested by the city, some seem to have disappeared off the face of the earth.

According to the rumors, the most ardent and dangerous of the opponents to the Board of Directors, are exiled deep into the city's underground. While it would be easier to simply expel the trouble makers from the city, the fact that these dissidents know much about the dark side of Academy City makes such a thing a dangerous proposition. If knowledge of the dark side became widespread outside of the city, its very existence would be put at risk. Another option which has been considered in the past was simply having the Hound Dogs kill off the people in question, but that would quickly raise suspicions among other residents of the city. As a result, it was decided opponents of the Board of Directors would be imprisoned in a place where they would never be a problem again, or at least, that's what the Board wants to believe.


	2. Chapter 1

**A Certain Scientific Retribution**

Chapter 1

By poil333

* * *

The damp, dank room is dimly lit by a single flickering light bulb. Laying on a worn cot in the corner is an eighteen year old ex-student, Soren Mueller, one of the small number of foreigners in Academy City. He's of average height and build, but has two distinguishing features. Soren's brown hair is shot with streaks of silver, and his eyes are of different colors, heterochromia, one hazel-brown and the other electric blue.

As with all students in Academy City, Soren's esper ability and its level are registered in the city's database. Officially, Soren is a level-3 Electromaster, with the ability to manipulate electricity, and as a result, magnetism. However, after living in District Zero for two years after his exile, he has technically become an unregistered esper, as his ability's true power exceeds the level in official records.

"Son of a bitch," Soren curses as the light flickers weakly before dying. He creates an electric arc between his thumb and forefinger, illuminating the room in harsh bluish light. "Damn it, there has to another bulb somewhere in here," he grumbles, searching through an old cardboard box next to his cot.

The door opens behind Soren.

"Oh hey, I guess the power cut out in your area too."

Soren turns around and sees one of his former classmates in the doorway, holding an electric lantern. "Hey, Leon. So, this is happening all over the district?"

Leon is slightly shorter than Soren, and is another rare example of a foreign student in Academy City. Leon Matthews is a level-4 Teleporter, and has known Soren since middle school.

"Yeah, it doesn't look like anything is physically wrong with the wiring system though," Leon says, taking a seat on Soren's cot. "So, I guess that means the administrators are at it again."

"Jeez, isn't it enough they force us to live down here?" Soren replies. "Those bastards cut the power at least every week."

* * *

"Okay, so you're in District Seven now… I think at this intersection here. Okay, so now that we know where we are now, can you please tell me where you live?" Kuroko Shirai asks in slight frustration. "I can't help you if you don't tell me where you live… Wait, are you even listening to me?"

"I'm sorry for bothering you, I just needed to know where I was. I can get home on my own now," responds the girl Kuroko was trying to assist as she walks away.

"Honestly, I don't understand how people like her get anywhere like that," Kuroko complains, watching the girl's red hair disappear into the crowd by the metro station.

"Hey, Kuroko, who was that?"

"Oh, Onee-sama, I didn't see you there," Kuroko says, her attitude brightening. "I don't know who that was. She said she was lost, so I was trying to give her direction, but then see seemed to figure things out on her own."

"Huh, is that so?" replies Mikoto Misaka. "Come to think of it, I've never seen a school uniform like hers before."

"Hmmm, you right, Onee-sama. I wonder what school she attends."

* * *

"Well, at least the generators are working properly," says Leon with a sigh. "Kat should be getting back soon with lunch."

"Oh god, I didn't know it was her turn today," Soren says darkly, "she always gets the weirdest stuff."

Katrina Masters is the third member of Soren's little band. As another foreigner in the city, she has naturally fallen in with Soren and Leon. She is the same age as the two, but barely reaches Soren's shoulders, though her fiery red hair easily marks her out in a crowd. Unlike the two classmates however, Katrina is what the city refers to as a "child error", abandoned in the city with no family to support her. While many child errors are fortunate enough to be placed in care facilities, the dark secret behind the selection process is only those considered useful for experiments are taken in by the city. Those considered unsuitable for experimentation are abandoned, often left to the care of the exiles in District Zero. Katrina's weak constitution as a child initially led to her abandonment by the city, though her ability later led to her selection for experimentation.

Known as Kat by her friends, Katrina possesses a rare esper ability known as Replication, allowing her to reassemble the atoms of a substance to form a different object. While her power level has never been measured properly, what is known is the limits of the Replication ability. A Replicator cannot create something out of nothing, following the preservation of energy and matter. In addition, the power requires the raw material to contain the same atomic elements in the proper quantities as the desired finished product. While the limits prevent the creation of many useful objects in the middle of a fight, it does allow a Replicator to do things like reforming the ground into a barrier.

"Hey, guys, sorry I'm late!" shouts Kat as she walks in the door. "I got a little turned around on the way back."

Leon points to the plastic bag in Kat's hand. "So, what did you get this time? Did you make sure it's actually edible?"

"Oh shut up, Leon. If it wasn't for me, your generator would still be broken," Kat retorts. "Be glad you're friends with a natural-born engineer."

Soren opens one of the cartons after Kat places the bag on the table. "Wow, burgers. You actually got something normal this time."

"Yeah, but I had to wait almost half-an-hour in line," complains Kat. "Some girl dressed like a shrine maiden must have been ordering for a party or something... she could have at least called ahead for the order." Kat's face becomes more serious as she changes the subject. "So, have you been hearing the rumors going around lately? A lot of the people in the district forum have been saying Zero Faction is making a comeback."

"I've heard some of that too," Leon responds. "Supposedly they're planning to mount some sort of mass protest or uprising, but I think it's a bunch of BS. Even if they did, the city will just crush it like every other protest."

"Well, this time, they have a secret weapon, or so I've heard," Kat says, lowering her voice as if someone might be listening.

"Is that so?" questions Soren.

"Apparently, a really powerful esper is being recruited by Zero Faction, supposedly she was born with her ability. Anyway, I've heard she's a psychokinetic, but what makes her special is some ability called "Limit Break", or something like that. It's so rare there's only been one case of it before."

"What does Limit Break do?" asks Leon.

"Well, you know how people use only a small percentage of the brain's computational ability, even espers?" Kat begins. "Limit Break apparently allows a person to bypass the normal limits of the brain and human body. Basically, all the safety locks are removed. Of course, by doing that, Limit Break is also extremely dangerous for the person using it. Using it for too long probably fries your brain or something like that."

"So, theoretically, Limit Break could allow someone to use more than one esper ability?" interjects Leon.

"I guess so... I never thought about it like that before," muses Kat.

"Do you know anything about how long this esper in particular can use Limit Break?" asks Soren, pressing Kat for more information.

"I don't know, I didn't ask too much about it. The last thing I want is Zero Faction to put a price on my head," Kat replies. "Still, I would love to meet someone with such a rare ability."

* * *

"Onee-sama, I found out what school that girl's uniform belonged to: Marase Academy" Kuroko says, pushing back in her chair from her computer at the Judgment office.

"Huh? You took the time to figure all that out? It didn't seem like something you would care about," Misaka replies, not completely paying attention.

"Judgment is responsible for enforcing discipline on school grounds," Kuroko explains. "So when I see a uniform I don't recognize, it's only natural I would want to know what school it belongs to... but there's something in particular that's bothering me."

"And what's that?"

"The school, Marase Academy, closed two years ago. Actually, it was shut down by a direct order from the Board of Directors."

"What, you mean like forcibly shut down?" Misaka asks, her interest piqued.

Kuroko nods.

"That's the first time I've heard of something like that happening. Why did the school get shut down?"

"According to the report I found, there was some kind of student group that was actively involved in protesting against the city administration. It wasn't a small group either, apparently almost all of the students were part of the protests. There were even faculty members indicted after the investigation," Kuroko explains, reading off the computer screen.

Misaka looks at the screen over Kuroko's shoulder. "Does it say specifically what the students were doing?"

"I can't find any official charges... but apparently because the way the school has opposed the administration in the past, some of the students were accused of involvement in several terrorist attacks on research facilities," Kuroko replies. "They even were accused of attacking a medical research center focused on muscular dystrophy. What kind of people do that kind of thing?" Kuroko looks behind her and realizes Misaka is gone. "Huh? Where did Onee-sama run off to?"


	3. Chapter 2

**A Certain Scientific Retribution**

Chapter 2

By poil333

* * *

The district forum is an open area in the middle of the Distrct Zero where the residents gather for various reasons. Whether to vent their frustrations over the constant power outages or to plan for a protest in a semi-serious manner, the forum is the busiest part of the district. A portion of the people living in District Zero are allowed limited access to the rest of the city, creating a local economy of sorts as those allowed above-ground sell goods to those who remain trapped. Considered non-violent offenders by the city, Soren and his friends are among those allowed outside of District Zero, and have a made a business of sorts running errands for other residents.

"Okay, Mr. Miyama wants us to pick up some nuts and bolts for his hardware stand," Kat says, reading off a scrap of paper.

"I can take care of that," Leon responds.

"While you're there, can you pick up some wire for me?" asks Soren.

"Sure."

"Okay, then. Soren, Can you pick up the new magazines Ms. Kitagawa's book stand? I can take care of the last request myself," Kat finishes the conversation.

* * *

Just being allowed outside of District Zero does not mean one can come and go as you please. There is only one checkpoint for entrance and exit from the district. Every person exiting must register with the security system run by the city administration, and are given a set period of time before they must return. Anyone outside of District Zero after the deadline passes is arrested, and often are never heard from again.

* * *

"Oh, it's you three again," the security officer says, looking up from his book with a bored expression. "Doing more deliveries?"

"Nah, not this time, Mr. Kizuha," Kat says, swiping a card through a reader on the wall. "Just running some errands for the shop owners."

"Huh, well, just make sure you're back by curfew," Kizuha says, looking back to his book.

As the trio walks past the security booth, Soren can't help but wonder why the access point to District Zero only has a single old guard and a subway style gate for their ID cards.

_Huh... I guess the threat of "disappearing" is enough to keep everyone in line without an obvious security presence._

"You know, I can never get used to the way everything seems so normal," Leon says as they walk through the passage leading to the surface. "We're convicted 'criminals', but life doesn't seem much different from when we were in school."

"Speaking of school," interjects Soren, "Why do you wear that uniform, Kat? You didn't go to Marase Academy."

Kat scowls jokingly. "What? Is it wrong that I feel like matching the two of you? Besides, walking around the city without a school uniform on seems like it would make me stand out from the crowd."

When they reach the end of the passage, the lobby of a nondescript office building in District Twenty-Two, each goes their way to perform the errand they've been tasked with.

* * *

"Huh, looks like I have some time to spare," Soren says, looking at his watch after picking up around a dozen magazines from a corner store. "Maybe I should pick up something for dinner."

Soren takes a shortcut through the alley behind the convenience store, a route he often takes. This time, however, he notices several unsavory characters loitering around the shadows.

_How is it possible in a city with such advanced science for there to be so many delinquents? _

"Hey, kid, drop the bags and fork over your cash, if you know what's good for you," growls one of the delinquents, blocking Soren's path.

Soren puts down the bags and reaches into his pocket. "How about instead of that, you jerk-offs get out of my way?"

"Oh, you must think you're real tough," scoffs the older boy facing Soren. "Well guess what? I'm a level two esper, I could squash you like a bug!"

_So, these morons are Skill-Outs. I don't anyone would mind if I beat them senseless._

Taking a small barbed needle from one of the puches on his belt, Soren taunts the hapless delinquent. "Wow, level two? You must be so proud of your mediocrity."

Before the Skill-Out can lift up his hand, Soren launches the needle with a crackle of electricity, embedding it into the delinquent's neck.

"Game over," Soren says with a grin.

"What the he-"

Soren sends a powerful current through the thin wire attached to the barbed wire and watches as his opponent convulses before falling to the ground.

"Damn it, just who do you think you are?" shouts one of the other Skill-Outs who had been watching.

"Me? I'm Soren Mueller, Electromaster, Puppet Master," Soren responds, a light glinting in his eye.

As the other members of the gang begin to step forward, their leader on the ground begins to rise to his feet, the needle still embedded in his neck.

"Huh? Hey, boss, are you oka-"

Without warning, the Skill-Out is punched across the face by his compatriot.

* * *

Soren has made a name for himself as one of the more skilled espers in District Zero, acquiring the nickname "Puppet Master." While Mikoto Misaka, the Railgun, uses her powers as an electromaster on a large scale in a destructive manner, Soren has found a novel way to utilize his ability. Launching sharp barbed needles with very fine conductive wire attached at high speed using a low-powered version of Mikoto's Railgun technique, Soren embeds the projectiles into an opponents flesh before using a strong electric shock to knock them unconscious. With the barbs in place and his opponent out cold, Soren can use precise electric impulses to control his enemies body. Under certain conditions, this technique can be used on someone who isn't unconscious, but rather simply incapacitated.

* * *

Mikoto Misaka, the Railgun walks down a side street of District Fifteen, deep in thought.

_Marase Academy was closed down after its students were blamed for attacks on several research __facilities, but there's no way it was them. I was one the one destroying those labs!_

Misaka's train of thought is interrupted by a shout from an alley ahead of her.

"G-get away from me you monster!"

Not one to ignore an interesting situation, Misaka sprints toward the alley and turns the corner. She finds several young men on the ground, a few with smoking clothes and charred patches of skin, but many seemingly beaten senseless. Cowering against the wall, is the one who shouted. Standing over him is a boy with silver and brown hair, one of his legs cocked back to kick the helpless individual.

"Hey, just who the hell do you think you are! Beating up people who can't fight back, only a coward does that!" shouts Misaka.

* * *

Soren looks at the girl standing at the end of the alley. He notices several electric sparks jumping out from around her chestnut-brown hair before recognizing the Tokiwadai Middle School uniform.

_Ah... let me see... she must be another Electromaster judging by the sparks, and she's from Tokiwadai..._

"I think I know who you are. You're famous or something, right?" Soren asks with a bored expression on face, kicking the delinquent on the ground as he does so.

"I'm Mikoto Misaka, the Railgun, the third strongest level five esper in the city! Now tell me who you are!"

"There's no need to get so worked up over this," Soren replies, avoiding the question. "These guys tried to mug me so I gave them what they deserved. You can understand that, can't you?"

"I don't care if they tried to mug you!"Misaka shouts, shooting a lightning bolt toward Soren from her forehead.

Soren creates a strong electric charge of opposite polarity in the ground in front of him, causing the lightning bolt to veer off into the floor.

"What? How did you do that?"

"I might as well answer your original question before the fight gets started," Soren says, taking more needles from his belt pouches, holding one between each pair of fingers at the first joint, six in all. "I'm an Electromaster and my name is Soren Mueller, the Puppet Master."

Seeing the needles in Soren's hands, Misaka notices each of the delinquents on the ground who has been shocked has at least one such needle embedded in their neck.

"Huh, that's a pretty nice trick you used on these idiots, controlling their bodies by hijacking their nervous system. Too bad it won't work on me!"

Misaka launches several pieces of metal drainpipe at Soren with magnetism before charging him with her iron sand sword. Soren responds by using an opposing magnetic force to cancel out the forward momentum of the projectiles, while at the same time launching his needles into the walls and forming a web with the wires, backing away as he does.

"You think those little wires can stop me?" Misaka shouts, swinging her sword to cut through the web.

To her surprise the sword stops before making contact, and she realizes the wires are charged with a current matching the one containing the iron sand, causing the magnetic fields given off by each to repel each other.

_What? He matched the magnetic field perfectly! There's no way that's coincidence._

"So, you can see the magnetic field lines too?" Misaka asks. "I thought I was the only one who could do that."

Soren grins as he takes out another set of needles and wire. "There's a lot you probably don't know about in this city."

Looking at Soren more closely, she begins analyzing the situation, taking notice of Soren's school uniform and realizing she's seen a very similar one before. "That uniform of yours, it belongs to Marase Academy, right?"

Soren tightens his grip on his needles, eyeing Misaka suspiciously. "How do you know what school I go to?"

"What school you _went_ to, you mean? I know that Marase Academy was shut down by the city," Misaka replies. "A friend and I saw a girl wearing a uniform from your school earlier today, and she took the time to find out what school it belonged to."

"Is that so? If your friend could find all of that, then she must have told you why our school was shut down too," Soren says. "You must think I'm some kind of villain then, don't you?"

"No, I don't think your a bad person because of what you and your school were accused of, but I can't say the same about the way you dealt with these losers. Actually, I know your school had nothing to do with the attacks on the labs."

"Really? You seem pretty confident about that statement, so just how do you know?"

"I know, because I'm the one who destroyed those facilities."


End file.
